HURRICANE FRAN. White whirl of death swirling in the western Atlantic, infamous Fran bears down on the Florida peninsula in early September 1996. Like many previous hurricanes, Fran changed course and headed north along the Eastern Seaboard, slamming the Carolinas with 115-mile-an-hour winds. GOES-8 captured Fran's ominous image, giving a good view of the approaching storm. Using the satellite as their eye in the sky, they could watch Fran's movement toward the coast and send out timely warnings to people living in her path